The Brief
I'm Michael, a Software Engineer with a career built on understanding every phase of the software development lifecycle. From coding to deployment, I thrive on mastering the full stack of software creation and delivery. With 4 years of experience spanning .NET development, production support, and DevOps. I don't just write code - I build the systems that sustain it. My mission is to evolve from DevOps into Platform Engineering, creating seamless, scalable environemnts where developers can ship with confidence.
The Evolution
2019 - 2021: The Logic Foundations
The Starting Point | University - First Year & Second Year
This was my "compilation" phase. I spent these years learning the fundamentals of Computer Science, such as algorithms and data structures, and built software projects in languages like Java and Python. At this stage, I saw code as a puzzle to be solved in a vacuum. I didn't yet realize that code is only as good as the environment it runs in.
2021 - 2022: The "Production" Reality Check
Placement Year | Support Developer at Next Plc
Everything changed when I stepped into a real-world enterprise environment. Supporting P1 production issues in legacy .NET and SQL codebases was my "aha" moment. I realized that writing the feature is the easy part; ensuring it survives a Friday afternoon deployment is where the real engineering happens. My proudest moment wasn't a complex algorithm—it was a simple SSIS automation that saved the team 120 hours of manual toil. That was the spark for my interest in DevOps.
2022 - 2023: The Final Layer
CTRL ALT BSc Complete | University - Final Year
I returned to my final year with a completely different perspective. Projects weren't just about getting the code to run; they were about architecture and reliability. I spent this year bridging the gap between academic theory and the operational reality I had seen at Next, graduating with a clear focus: I wanted to build systems, not just features.
2023 - 2024: The Automation Bridge
Trainee Developer | Next Plc
Rejoining Next as a graduate, I focused on high-impact automation. I realized that the best code is the code that removes manual friction for the business. By integrating internal apps with Oracle HCM, I saw how a well-built "bridge" could save £300k in operational costs. I was no longer just a "developer"; I was someone who looked for bottlenecks and built paths around them.
2024 - 2026: The Infrastructure Shift
Software Developer & Migration Lead | Next Plc
This era was defined by responsibility. Being the Lead Engineer for a major SQL-to-Azure migration was my first deep dive into the "Ops" side of the house. I stopped looking at the application layer and started looking at the foundation—retiring legacy Windows 2008 servers and moving to Azure SQL Managed Instances. I realized that "Infrastructure as Code" wasn't just a buzzword; it was the only way to ensure security and scale in a modern enterprise.
2026 - Present: The Pivot to Platform
DevOps Engineer | The Current Chapter
All the roads led here. My journey from a Support Developer fixing P1 bugs to a Lead Engineer migrating cloud infrastructure has given me a "full-stack" perspective on reliability. I am now fully focused on Platform Engineering—building the self-service tools and CI/CD pipelines that allow other developers to ship code as safely and quickly as possible.